The Certified Financial Planning Board announced that a former SEC chair and two advisors have been elected to its board of directors with three-year terms to begin on January 1.
Former SEC Chairman Elisse Walter, in addition to Malik Lee and Linda Leitz, will be the third board class eligible to be re-elected by the board for a second three-year term, the release noted.
Walter served as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 2012-2013. She was appointed as a commissioner by President George W. Bush n 2008. Before her appointment as an SEC commissioner, Walter served as senior executive vice president for regulatory policy and programs with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. She held the same position at NASD before its consolidation with NYSE Member Regulation in 2007, the board said. She coordinated policy issues across Finra and oversaw several departments, including investment company regulation, member education and training, investor education and emerging regulatory issues. Walter also served on the board of directors of the Finra investor education foundation.
Lee, a financial planner with nearly two decades of experience, is the founder and managing principal of Felton & Peel Wealth Management, with offices in Atlanta and New York, that serves underrepresented clients, a news release said. He is “a recognized thought leader in financial planning” and has served as a CFP exam question writer, chair of the Council of Examinations for CFP Board, chairman of the Financial Planning Association of Georgia, founding member of Morehouse College’s Planned Giving Council and member of the Association of African American Financial Advisors (AAAA).
Leitz, the founder of Peace of Mind Financial Planning in Colorado Springs, Colo., has been a financial professional since 1979. She is a writer and speaker and served as chair of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors in 2013-2014. She has volunteered on many CFP Board councils and commissions, most recently serving on the standards resource commission, the board said.
The board said that the new members were elected after its nominating committee conducted “a detailed gap analysis that identified two recruitment priorities to ensure that the Board has the diversity of experience, viewpoints and representation necessary for good governance: a client-facing CFP practitioner and a member to represent the public’s interest.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Malik, Linda and Elisse to the Board of Directors,” CFP Board Chair-Elect Matthew Boersen said in a statement. “Each of these individuals brings a wealth of experience, deep commitment to the financial planning profession and a passion for upholding the high standards of ethics and professionalism. I eagerly anticipate collaborating with them to advance the public’s interests and uphold CFP certification as the standard for competent and ethical financial planning."
Boersen will take the helm as board chair and Liz Miller, will become board chair-elect on January 1. The terms of board chair Dan Moisand, and board members Roberta Karmel and Alex Rozman will end on December 31.
With the three new elected members, the board in 2024 will have 15 members, 14 of whom are voting members. CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller will continue as a nonvoting member.